Sebastian Hoeness’ team warmed up for their trip to Glasgow by getting back to winning ways on home turf

21:19, 14 Feb 2026Updated 21:19, 14 Feb 2026

Tiago Tomas in tears

Stuttgart star Tiago Tomas burst into tears after they returned to winning ways in the Bundesliga just in time to play Celtic.

The Germans are in Glasgow this Thursday for the first leg of their Europa League playoff round showdown with Martin O’Neill’s men.

And after seeing an eight game winning run ended by St Pauli last week, Sebastian Hoeness’ side got back on track with a 3-1 victory over FC Koln, although they left it late.

Ermedin Demirovic’s early goal was cancelled out by Ragnar Ache with 11 minutes left and it looked like a share of the spoils was on the cards,

But Demirovic bagged his second with just four to go before Deniz Undav made sure two minutes into stoppage time.

Tomas, who has just returned from a long-term injury, was visibly upset after the full-time whistle, which according to the club was due to a private family matter, understood to be the death of his father last month.

“The pictures speak for themselves,” said Hoeness. “There’s not much more to say. Tiago is a very special person. He’s been through some tough weeks. It was certainly emotional to be back on the pitch after a long injury.

Head coach Sebastian Hoeness of VfB Stuttgart

“And then emotions just came out. The team also understands that.”

As for his team’s display, the Stuttgart head coach saw some things he liked and some he didn’t ahead of their trip to Celtic Park.

He added: “The first 20 to 25 minutes were very good from us, with a very active style of play, a lot of pressure, and lots of active dribbling. After the 1-0, it became a bit more open.

“We failed to continue playing simply and clearly. We played too complicated and stopped looking for the simple solutions. That’s how the game played out.

“The 1-1 goal was a major mistake in our build-up play, but also a lack of structure. Then I have to congratulate the team; they believed in themselves until the very end.”

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